Too Quiet
by Ms. H. Scarlet
Summary: Alex lives with her father, who is physically abusive. Mitchie is her knight in shining armor who saves the day...but will the hero get the girl in the end?
1. Chapter 1

This was one of those stories that popped into my head and I had to write it down as soon as possible. I hope all of you like it. It's more of an AU story. There are some lyrics that I put into the chapters as well, seeing as I got the idea from Demi's song, Quiet. They're all from songs by Demi Lovato (Quiet and Catch Me, to be exact). Also, I've never actually watched Camp Rock...*insert nervous laughter here*....but I've read a lot of fanfics written about Mitchie, so hopefully this turns out okay.

Some background info: Alex lives with her father (her parents have been divorced for a while and her brothers live with their mother) who is very physically abusive. Also, she isn't a wizard. Mitchie and Alex have been best friends for what seems like forever to them – if I write a sequel, I'll go into their past more.

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING. Unfortunately.

Thanks for reading! Please review!

"Mitchie?" her tentative and broken voice echoed slightly as she spoke my name over the phone.

"I'm on my way. Just stay on the phone with me, okay? Just hang on," I said reassuringly, despite my immediate impulse to burst into tears. I didn't even bother to put shoes on, I just ran out the door, grabbing my car keys on the way.

"Mitchie?" she asked again, her voice cracking through her tears.

"Shit!" I said as I dropped my car keys in my haste to unlock the car door.

"Mitchie!"

"I'm coming, don't worry. I just dropped my car keys, that's all."

"MITCHIE!" I heard her scream my name this time. In the background I could hear a door being banged on and angry shouting.

"I'm coming! Hang on! Just hang on! I'm on my way. I'm in the car already, okay? Alex?" I heard her scream unintelligibly this time. "ALEX!" I could hear something shattering in the background just before the line went dead.

I hopped in the car and floored it. Screw the speed limit – Alex needed me. If I got pulled over because I was saving someone's life via speeding, so be it. I'd take the fine. I made it to Alex's house in record time. I barely stopped the car before I threw myself out of it and ran into the house, or rather up to it. The door was locked.

Have you ever heard that adrenaline at certain times of crisis makes you do super-human things? It happens. Believe me. I literally ran at the door and broke the damn thing off of its hinges. When I got inside, I couldn't hear anything. I waited for maybe a second before bolting up the stairs - the only room with a lock is Alex's bathroom, so Alex must have been hiding in there when she called. That would explain why her voice seemed to echo over the phone.

When I got upstairs, Alex's bedroom door was imbedded in the wall, it had been opened so forcefully. I guess I wasn't the only one with an adrenaline rush tonight. I ran around the corner to see her bathroom door in splinters. An already unconscious Alex was curled against the bathtub in a pile of shattered glass, with blows upon blows being reigned down upon her from her father. I did possibly the dumbest thing I had ever done in my life in that moment. I grabbed Alex's blow-dryer that was lying by the door and pushed it against her father's back. In a voice that was surprisingly calm, I addressed him.

"Sir, I have a gun here. If you so much as move one more time, I'll shoot." I clicked a button on the blow-dryer that made it sound as if I was cocking the gun. It surprised me that my voice was so authoritative at that moment. He didn't register that the tip of the blow-dryer must have been three times the size of a regular gun barrel. People's minds work in mysterious ways. Slowly, he raised his hands and put them on his head. Before I could think of what to do next, I heard shouting downstairs - the neighbors must have called the cops when they saw me break the front door down. Wrong crime, but help was here nonetheless. "Now, my back-up will be in here in moments, so I want you to take a step to your left, spread your legs, and put your hands flat against the wall and above your head. Do you understand?" He nodded and started to move, my hand still pushing Alex's blow-dryer into his back. I heard a moan from the floor to my left.

"Mi-" I could make out the beginnings of my name coming out of Alex's bruised mouth. I looked down at her and shook my head slightly. She just stared at me, all the tension leaving her body once she realized that I was there. I watched her drift off into unconsciousness once again as a police officer ran into the bathroom, gun pointed straight at me.

Thankfully, he seemed to assess the situation before speaking. "I'll take it from here," he said. He understood that if he had addressed me as a civilian, Alex's father could have easily turned around and hit me before the cop could do anything.

"Thank you," I replied. I waited until the cop had replaced my fake gun with his real one before I heaved a sigh of relief. I bent and scooped Alex up into my arms. I wanted her to wake up so I could tell her that everything would be alright, that she wouldn't have to suffer any more for anything, but we both knew that that was only a shallow, comforting lie.

_I hear what you're not saying_

_It's driving me crazy_

_It's like we stopped breathing in this room_

_We're both the last to be leaving_

_I know what you're thinking_

_I wish you'd make your move_


	2. Chapter 2

The ambulance couldn't drive fast enough for my taste. I was certain that I was going to lose Alex. She looked so...broken. It wasn't just her body that made me think that – it was the few seconds of every few minutes that she would open her eyes and search the small vehicle for me. Once her eyes found mine, she'd relax and close them again.

Eventually, we arrived at the hospital. The paramedics shoved me into the arms of a nurse. I didn't even hear what she was telling me. I was focused solely on Alex. When we reached a certain point in the hospital, the nurse took my arm.

"Miss? Miss! You can't go in there. Your girl friend has some broken ribs, and they're going to have to do surgery. Miss?" the nurse said in my ear. All I heard was "girlfriend" and "broken". "Why don't I get you a glass of water and you can sit in the waiting room, okay?"

It didn't even register with me why she was so concerned about me until I walked past a mirror in the waiting room. Why do they put mirrors in waiting rooms? It doesn't help your mood any when you see how shitty you look from grief and worry. I stared at my face in the mirror and decided that it didn't look like it belonged to me. My eyes were puffy and red from tears I didn't remember crying. Mascara and eyeliner had streaked down my face. My throat felt tight and my head hurt, but I only felt it for a moment. I was still thinking about Alex. I didn't realize how long I had been staring in the mirror until I felt the nurse tap me on the shoulder.

"Here, I got you some water, and I brought you a pair of slippers," she said. I frowned. Why would she bring me slippers? "What happened to your feet, sweetheart?" she asked me. I looked down at the appendages in question. My feet had suffered from my two second decision to go without shoes while I rescued the princess. My socks had bits and pieces of wood sticking out of them from the splintered door, as well as numerous glass shards from picking Alex up out of the broken mirror. My feet had bled all over the once-white socks.

"Oh. I..." I started but I couldn't get the sentence out. My throat constricted as I choked out a sob.

"Here, let's go fix your feet, okay? Here, there's a wheelchair right outside, I'll grab it." The nurse went and got the wheelchair and I sat down in it heavily. "I'm Chloe, by the way," she said as she wheeled me down the hall towards an examining room.

She left briefly and came back with a variety of antiseptics and bandages. She washed my feet – most of the blood had already dried – and took a tweezers and pulled the glass and wood shards out of my feet. I didn't even feel it. After she was done, she washed my feet once more and put some kind of cream on them before wrapping them in bandages.

"Can I see her yet?" I asked. The words scraped against my throat like sandpaper as they left my mouth.

"I'll go and check," Chloe said. "Do you want to come with me?" she asked. I nodded.


	3. Chapter 3

_It's much too quiet in here_

_I want to disappear_

_I'm hearing myself thinking too clear_

_It's too quiet in here_

_Make it all go away_

_Why can't we break this silence_

_Finally_

"Mitchie Torres."

"And what is the patient's name?" the girl at the desk asked.

"Alex Russo."

"And how old are the two of you?"

"Seventeen."

"And how are you related to her?"

"We aren't related," I said and continued under my breath, "Not by blood, anyway."

"Are you her – um – are you in a relationship with her?" she asked. I glared at her. It wasn't any of her business. "I ask because you have visiting rights if you are. If you aren't related, or in a relationship, I'll have to ask you to leave." I hesitated.

"Yes. Yes, she's my...girlfriend."

"Can you prove it?" What was _with _ this chick?

"This is her ring," I said, flashing a ring that I had borrowed from her nearly a month ago.

"Okay. I just don't want you to get into trouble. Move the ring onto your ring finger." I did, but it was a little tight. "There you go."

I wondered why she was helping me, but I wasn't going to complain. She directed me towards the room where Alex was. As I drew closer to it my heart began to race and my palms became sweaty. Once I reached the room, I paused in the doorway.

Alex was lying on the bed, eyes closed. What was visible of her skin was covered in bruises, bandages, and IV tubes. An oxygen tube ran through her nose – I guess she needed it because of her ribs.

"She's pumped full of morphine at the moment," Chloe said. I jumped as she spoke – I hadn't heard her come up behind me. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. You can sit in here if you want. Do you want a glass of water or anything?"

"Tea?" I asked. I had a hard time forcing more than one word out at a time. It felt like I had been crying for days.

"Sure. I'll be right back. You can stay here as long as you want – there's a chair right next to the bed there. You should sit down, anyway. Your feet are still sore." I had refused the wheelchair. If I was going to see Alex, I had to be strong for her. I couldn't feel the pain in my feet anyway; I was still too focused on Alex. Once I was sure that she was okay, I could focus on my own pain for a while.

I sat in the chair and I must have fallen asleep. I was awoken by Chloe coming in to check on Alex. I stretched stiffly in the chair, almost knocking over my now ice-cold tea. Why were hospitals always freezing cold?

Chloe greeted me with a smile, but refrained from saying anything. She just looked...

"Chloe, what's wrong with her?" I asked, suddenly fearful.

"Her morphine has worn off a bit, and she's just uncomfortable. Her arm is broken, and the doctors had to fix two of her ribs. She has a lot of bruises, and one of her shoulders was dislocated. She's in a lot of pain."

"Is she awake?" I asked, scared to look. Chloe looked at me with a pitying expression. "Mitchie, there's something else. Sometimes people who have endured extremely traumatic experiences stop talking. It's not always permanent, but Alex hasn't said a word yet. I've had to wake her up a couple times to check on her and she's been quiet," she said. I felt tears running down my cheeks. "I- I could be wrong. It could be the morphine making her too tired to talk. Her throat is bruised pretty bad too – I think she was strangled for a little while. That- that happens, sometimes, in abusive situations. If you have any questions..." she trailed off.

"How long has it been since she's...how long was I asleep?" I asked.

"You've been asleep for almost eight hours. It's afternoon now. Would you like something to eat? My break starts in about ten minutes. If you'd like, I could take you down to the cafeteria and get some lunch. If you'd just like company, that's fine – we don't have to talk."

"Thank you," I said, accepting her offer.

"Okay. I'll be back in a few minutes." She finished hooking up a new IV bag for Alex and exited the room. I wasn't sure what to do with myself.


	4. Chapter 4

I stood up slowly. My knees hurt from being crammed in an uncomfortable chair for eight hours without moving. I finally looked at Alex. Her eyes were closed, but she looked uncomfortable. I took her hand in mine and squeezed it. Her eyes opened a little, looking at me. I tried to smile, but I'm sure that it looked like more of a grimace than anything.

She continued to look at me, and she squeezed my hand. Her lips formed my name, but no sound came out. She looked puzzled for a minute.

"Hi, baby," I said, my voice cracking. "Do you remember what happened?" She nodded slowly. She mouthed "Are you okay?". I smiled again, this one a little more genuine. Leave it to Alex to ask about me when she's lying in a hospital bed with bruises and broken bones. "I'm fine. I've been asleep in the chair for a while, so I'm stiff." I paused, wondering whether or not to tell her why I was allowed in here. I guess I should tell her in case someone asks – I could get thrown out of here.

"Alex, the only reason they let me stay here with you was because I said that I was your girlfriend. They knew we weren't related, so..." I trailed off, holding up my left hand with her ring on it. She looked as though she was going to laugh. I looked at her questioningly and she motioned for me to get something for her to write on. I brought her a napkin that was sitting on a nearby table, as well as a pen. On it, she scribbled the following: _Mitch, that's my old purity ring_. My eyes widened. "OLD?" I squeaked. _Calm down._ She scrawled as she laughed silently. _I bought a new one because that one was too small._ "Oh," I said and blushed sheepishly. She closed her eyes and smiled, taking my hand in hers and rubbing her thumb across the ring. "I know you're tired. The nurse that's taking care of us, Chloe, said that she'd take me to the cafeteria to get some lunch. So, I'll let you sleep and be back in a little bit, okay?" I told her. She looked at me and nodded. With her hand that was still clasped in mine, she pulled me close to her so I could hug her. I buried my face in her neck, trying not to cry. "I love you," I whispered in her ear. She kissed my cheek as I pulled away. At that moment, Chloe re-entered the room.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked, smiling sweetly at the scene before her. I nodded. I squeezed Alex's hand and she gently ran her thumb across the back of my hand. I bent and kissed her forehead, and left her to sleep with a gentle smile on her face.

_Before I fall_

_Too fast_

_Kiss me quick_

_But make it last_

_So I can see how badly this will hurt me_

_When you say goodbye_

_Keep it sweet_

_Keep it slow_

_Let the future pass_

_And don't let go_


	5. Chapter 5

For those of you wondering, Chloe is based _loosely_ off of the beautiful Michelle Trachtenberg's character on the TV show Mercy.

Lunch was surprisingly pleasant. Chloe asked me some questions about my family, and avoided asking questions about Alex's family. The cafeteria food wasn't great, according to Chloe, but I thought it was the best food I had ever eaten. Then again, I hadn't eaten for over twenty-four hours – I hadn't eaten dinner the day before.

"So how long have you and Alex been together?" Chloe asked. I choked on my mouthful of food. "Oh, gosh. Sorry!" she apologized.

"It's okay," I said after taking a drink of water. "We're not actually together. The nurse at the desk told me to say that we were so I could stay with Alex. She's not- she's not my girlfriend."

"Oh. I'm sorry. It just looked like..." she stumbled over what she was trying to say. "When I came in, I just thought...And your ring..."

"I know. I told Alex about what I had to say in order to stay with her. I...she was probably just acting the part."

"Do you really love her, though?" Chloe asked gently. I nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, I've been in love with her for a while. Let me tell you, there's a reason why people write so many poems and songs about unrequited love. It sucks." I laughed bitterly.

"I think she loves you too. I mean, how could anyone _not_ love you...I mean," her eyes grew wide. "I mean, you're just so nice and I-" I cut her off by laughing.

"Thank you, Chloe. You're quite the flatterer. And I'm honestly not sure how you managed to make me laugh after the horror I've been through today."

"It's no problem. I'm glad I could make you feel better," she said though a smile and a blush.

"So, what about you?" I asked. "Do you have a- um, are you single?" I asked. My gay-dar did fail me every once in a while. She shook her head.

"No, when I first came here, there was a nurse that I really liked. And then I ended up drinking too much and kissing her ex-boyfriend...I'm not sure how that happened. Anyway, I pretty much ruined all of my chances with her. Well, my chances were probably ruined before that because she's totally straight, not to mention married, but – I'm rambling. Sorry," she laughed. I chuckled too.

"It sounds like she has some baggage, you probably wouldn't want to get into that anyway," I responded.

"And who are you to say?" she asked. She didn't say it in a mean way – far from it. She said it quietly, and in a way that said that she was actually concerned about my life. I guess the paramedics had filled her in about Alex. No one had questioned me yet, thankfully.

"Touche," I replied with a sad smile. We sat in silence for a while after that.

"I guess I'll walk you back upstairs. I should get back to work anyway. You know, if you ever want to talk about anything, you can talk to me. I know that's probably weird coming from someone you barely know, but I mean it," she said.

"Thank you," I responded. She scribbled something on a napkin and handed it to me.

"Here's my cell number. I wouldn't mind staying in touch. You seem like a really sweet girl." I took it, thanked her again, and we walked back to Alex's hospital room together.


	6. Chapter 6

_It's much too quiet in here_

_I want to disappear_

_I'm hearing myself thinking too clear_

_It's too quiet in here_

_Make it all go away_

_Why can't we break this silence_

_Finally_

I entered the room by myself. Chloe had left in order to sign back in after her shift, telling me that she would be back to check on Alex and I later. I was tired again, now that I had eaten. Alex was still asleep on the bed. She looked like she was in more pain than before – apparently, the extra morphine hadn't kicked in yet. I walked up to the bed and took her hand in mine. As soon as I did so, the small grimace that had been on her face disappeared, and her eyebrows un-furrowed. I was surprised, but didn't think much of it at the time.

"Hey, 'Lex. It's me. I'm back from lunch and I'll be right here in the chair by your bed, ok?" I said, not sure if she could really understand me or not. I was about to let go of her hand to go sit down, but she pulled on my arm and shook her head. "What is it? Is something wrong?" I asked her.

_Stay_. She mouthed.

"I'm not going anywhere, Alex. I was just going to-"

_Stay. Please, Mitchie. Stay here next to me. _

"Okay," I consented. I didn't want to disrupt her too much, especially with her broken ribs. She leaned her head up and I hesitated slightly before putting my arm around her. She put her head on my shoulder and wrapped my free arm around her waist before snuggling into me further. I was baffled at how that was even remotely comfortable for her with all of her bruises and broken bones. Although, maybe she was just happy to have some kind of physical comfort - I know I was. She traced patterns with her fingers on my arm over and over again, and I didn't realize what it was until she was nearly asleep again. It wasn't just patterns. Not just pictures. It was three simple, beautiful words.

_I love you._


	7. Chapter 7

_And I can see this unraveling_

_Your love is where I'm falling_

_So please don't catch me_

_If this is love then please don't break me _

_I'm giving up, so just catch me._

I dosed off eventually. Surprisingly, it was the best sleep I had had in a long time. I wasn't cold like I had been before – Alex's warm body next to mine made sure of that. I woke up to Chloe's soft footsteps.

"Morning sleepy-head," she said. "You've been asleep for about three hours. I'm just checking on you two before I leave. With her current condition, Alex won't be discharged for another couple days at least. I work tomorrow so I'll come see you in the morning. I was going to give Alex more morphine but she's not showing any signs of being in pain at the moment. Not that I'm surprised," she said with a smile.

"Why aren't you surprised?" I asked. I had figured that Alex would be in more pain because of the way she was pushed up against me. Chloe, however, looked at me as though I was as dumb as a brick.

"Tell me something, Mitchie. What did she do when first saw you last night at her house?" I thought about it.

_***Flashback**_

_ I could make out the beginnings of my name coming out of Alex's bruised mouth. I looked down at her and shook my head slightly. She just stared at me, all the tension leaving her body once she realized that I was there. I watched her drift off into unconsciousness once again as a police officer ran into the bathroom, gun pointed straight at me. _

"And what did she do in the ambulance on the way here?"

_***Flashback**_

_ I was certain that I was going to lose Alex. She looked so...broken. It wasn't just her body that made me think that – it was the few seconds of every few minutes that she would open her eyes and search the small vehicle for me. Once her eyes found mine, she'd relax and close them again. _

"And when she woke up earlier?"

_*__**Flashback**_

_ With her hand that was still clasped in mine, she pulled me close to her so I could hug her. I buried my face in her neck, trying not to cry. "I love you," I whispered in her ear. She kissed my cheek as I pulled away. _

_ I squeezed Alex's hand and she gently ran her thumb across the back of my hand. I bent and kissed her forehead, and left her to sleep with a gentle smile on her face._

"And when you came back from lunch? I bet she did something then, too."

_*__**Flashback**_

_ Alex was still asleep on the bed. She looked like she was in more pain than before – apparently, the extra morphine hadn't kicked in yet. I walked up to the bed and took her hand in mine. As soon as I did so, the small grimace that had been on her face disappeared, and her eyebrows un-furrowed._

It was slowly dawning on me that-

_*__**Flashback**_

_It wasn't just patterns. Not just pictures. It was three simple, beautiful words. _

I love you.

"Alex is in love with you, Mitchie. You're her...you're her knight in shining armor. Every time she's near you, she relaxes and she's happy. It's like the pain doesn't exist to her as long as she has you by her side. You two have something very special – don't lose it." And with that, the most intuitive person I had ever met smiled at me and walked out of the room. I was still in a dazed sense of bafflement when I felt Alex squeeze my arm.

_Who you are is falling over me_

_Who you are is everything I need_

_I'm hoping_

_I'm waiting_

_I'm praying you are the one_

…

_You are the one_

I looked down at her. Her eyes were filled with tears as she looked into mine.

_She's right. _

"I know," I said quietly. "I love you, too. You know that. But," I paused, and watched as her bottom lip quivered, "Alex, why won't you talk to me?" At the time, I expected an answer, selfish as I was. I wanted to hear her say it – to hear her voice tell me that she loved me, but as time went on, I realized that I wouldn't get an answer from her. The last time I would ever hear her beautiful voice was when it was broken and screaming my name in complete and utter fear.


	8. Chapter 8

Alex was discharged from the hospital several days later. After that, we realized that we had nowhere to go. I had spent my eighteenth birthday with Alex in the hospital. Because of that, my parents had decided that they didn't have to deal with me and my "disappointment" anymore. They kicked me out of the house once I had explained to them why I had disappeared in the middle of the night and hadn't called or returned home for four days – once I had mentioned that I had a girlfriend. When I came home to pick up my stuff, I had to dig it out of the bushes, and pick it up off of the lawn. My dad had even hit a few of my t-shirts with the lawnmower.

Alex had nowhere to go. Her dad was in prison, and her house was being sold because her dad obviously wasn't going to be living there anymore. We drove to her house and she packed up her things. Once we had loaded everything we could into my truck, I burst into tears. I didn't know what to do anymore. Through my tears, I saw Alex scribble something on a notebook that I kept in the car.

_Call Chloe_.

I did. Chloe, being the wonderful person that she was, said that we could stay with her while we looked for an apartment or house of our own. Alex curled up next to me in the truck, and with renewed hope and determination, we started off towards our new life together.

I think the end of this was too cliche. Oh well...there's always the option of a sequel, right? What do you think?


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